Bad mouthing a Kioti?

[GManBart]

I can say anything about Kioti parts availability because I don't have one and don't pretend to know all, but I can say I have some very old John Deere and New Holland implements (baler, sickle bar mower, brush cutters, etc.) and can get all the parts I need. Example: 1960 sickle bar mower, I got all the parts I was looking for when the little lady hit some rocks. Called up the dealer that has been around for over 75 years and they had to look up the part numbers on the old paper catalogs (not the computer). If you are dealing with a parts dealer that is not any good at looking up old parts because the workers are too young you need to find a new parts dealer. I have 1964 & 1963 New Holland 268 balers and was able to get parts for those also. If a dealer is only been a dealer for so long or the folks that work there don't know how to look up parts then YES parts are hard to get, from THAT dealer and that goes for any dealer. I have an old Onan generator and a old garden tractor with an Onan engine and I can get parts for those. Folks talk about the prices of parts for Onan and others, if you can't pay the price to play with the big boys then you should go home and be quiet. When folks buy from the lower priced new guys on the block must times they are just cheap and don't have the money to get the good stuff.
When Kioti has had a dealer around for 50,60,70 years then you can talk.

I don't own a Kioti, but almost bought one twice in the past few years, so I'm not trying to defend "my" brand, or anything along those lines.

What you're posting has a grain of truth, but a lot of missing reality. The days of JD being able to get any part, for any machine, is pretty much gone. Yes, they can most parts for the bigger, more common stuff, but a number of their smaller machines (the focus of this board) aren't supported any longer....regardless of how good the dealer is. Sure, you might get lucky and find a dealer with a part on the shelf, but it's kind of hard to use luck as a selling point. The other reality is that Deere has been pushing out those locally owned, established, dealers for mega dealers and that means much of the experience at the parts desk goes out the window. There are holdouts, and sometimes you get lucky and your local dealer was big enough to become the head of the local mega-dealer setup, but again, it's pretty hard to sell luck as an advantage.

New Holland is a bit different since they've gone through so many ownership changes, twists and turns. It seems their parts support for the older stuff is still good, but now that they're CNH and machines are being produced all over the world, by a handful of different companies, I don't think we're going to see that on tractors going forward...maybe things like balers, etc, but not tractors. In fact, companies like LS and Kioti might wind up being better than CNH at supporting machines in the future because they build all of their own (at least the ones sold in the U.S. right now)...but only time will tell. Both of the local Kioti dealers in my area have been in business for decades (4+), and both used to be NH dealers....no NH within a reasonable drive around here any more.

Kioti has been selling tractors for 48 years, and in the U.S. for 22 years...not exactly an unknown upstart. 20 years ago people were saying the same stuff about Kubota, and it's worked out pretty well for them.

 

[GManBart]

Well that maybe true,,, if he looked to get parts and knew what he needed but he is not the kind of guy that can DIY so with no dealers in the area he is SOL. May as well make it a yard armament fixture. Where we are at. Maybe if guys went to the dealers they would still be around.

Maybe dealers should be a bit more reasonable in how they price parts. I recently overhauled the front axles (king pins, ball joints, seals, etc) on my backhoe when the seals started to leak (one side at a time as they didn't start leaking at the same time). I got most of the parts from the dealer for the first side and a couple online. I had more time for the second side, so I ordered most of the parts online. What struck me was that a seal I ordered online was $44 and the dealer wanted $143.75....same part, same markings on it, different packaging. That was the worst, but there were a couple of parts that were double the cost at the dealer. I saved hundreds of dollars buying just some of the parts online...and the online places I ordered from are actually storefront dealers in other towns. The local guys are losing business because they don't want, or don't need, sales to people that are willing to look around, and wait a few days to get their parts. Heck, the one place I ordered from online sometimes gets parts to me the next day because they're only 100mi away.

 

[EddieWalker]

We just got a Kioti dealer here. He has a dozen or so tractors sitting in his lot. Mostly he was a golf cart/trailer business that now has some tractors to sell. My only experience with them is at the tractor auction. I was looking at one and a guy came over to look at it too. He said that he was a buyer for a dealership up north and that the drive down to Texas to buy them at the auction cheap and sell them for a big profit up North. He said he didn't know why, but there are areas around the country where some brands sell for a lot less then they do in other areas.

Eddie

 

[rgr33]

I have a 30 + year old JD 950 that is battle tested, and a 2 yr old LS . I haven't had to buy many parts for either, with the exception of mods that I put on to improve the ride comfort. No problem with getting parts for either tractor, but I will say that the local JD dealer , in business for over sixty years,sold out to a mega dealer. Prices went way up, and service, especially in the sales dept. is almost non existent. Hence the new LS instead of a new John Deere.

 

[DK35vince]

I have a 30 + year old JD 950 that is battle tested, and a 2 yr old LS . I haven't had to buy many parts for either, with the exception of mods that I put on to improve the ride comfort. No problem with getting parts for either tractor, but I will say that the local JD dealer , in business for over sixty years,sold out to a mega dealer. Prices went way up, and service, especially in the sales dept. is almost non existent. Hence the new LS instead of a new John Deere.

My previous tractor was a JD 850.
Had it for 13-14 years and it was a good machine.
I have had my 2001 Kioti DK 35 for 14 years and nearing 2000 hours (1950 hours). Love it.
Well built, very reliable, works great for me every time I use it. And any parts I have ever needed were a phone call away.

 

[Industrial Toys]

This type of feud can never be settled until many years down the road, when the true cost of ownership is determined. Just because something runs, doesn't mean it is wearing at an acceptable rate internally, or that it was even built to last. If I had the front end completely self destruct at a few thousand hours on any machine, I would find that unacceptable.

 

[mkr7734]

Guys I am done with this thread.
I never said they were bad machines I think I said slow but sure. My issue was and is here there are no dealers and my neighbor wishes he had got something else now.
I think the guys that have to end the talk in attacks just wish they had something else.

My first post was this.
"My next door neighbor bought a Kioti in 2007 or 08, Now he is stuck with it. Slow but sure unit, but even the Bob Cat knock off of the same unit with white skin has no parts out there. All of the dealers in this area are gone.... You get what you pay for. Parts mean life. No parts no good. JMHO.
Why CAT and JD always bring the big bucks is because they will have parts 20 years out."


And to "quote" the guy who used to sell them and now sells Kabota when I asked him why. "They were to hard to get parts for and when we did get the parts it took way to long for delivery." He is the owner of Truff Team in Morris IL.
So again it is what it is.

Have a great holiday! :thumbsup:

 

[GManBart]

Guys I am done with this thread.
I never said they were bad machines I think I said slow but sure. My issue was and is here there are no dealers and my neighbor wishes he had got something else now.
I think the guys that have to end the talk in attacks just wish they had something else.

My first post was this.
"My next door neighbor bought a Kioti in 2007 or 08, Now he is stuck with it. Slow but sure unit, but even the Bob Cat knock off of the same unit with white skin has no parts out there. All of the dealers in this area are gone.... You get what you pay for. Parts mean life. No parts no good. JMHO.
Why CAT and JD always bring the big bucks is because they will have parts 20 years out."


And to "quote" the guy who used to sell them and now sells Kabota when I asked him why. "They were to hard to get parts for and when we did get the parts it took way to long for delivery." He is the owner of Truff Team in Morris IL.
So again it is what it is.

Have a great holiday! :thumbsup:

As already pointed out, there are a number of dealers in your area. Two within 50 miles, and two more within 60 miles...give or take. I'm sure everyone's standards are different, but that's hardly "no dealers" to most of us. I'd have to drive over 30 miles to get to the nearest Deere dealer....what's another 15 minutes at that point?

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I have 4 Kioti dealers nearby ... 20, 30, 50 & 55 miles. After 2 years, the only parts I've needed are filters.

 

[paulfun9]

I think the guys that have to end the talk in attacks just wish they had something else.

Just curious who do you think attacked you with their response? The only real attack I felt was the poster who sadly thinks some folks just cant afford the JD when in fact many like me who could have paid cash for any machine, were just simply discouraged from buying them due to our own personal experience.